Warrior Queen
by Matobar
Summary: Inside the War on Garvug: Follow the Raven Squadron, corporate A-61 Mantis Gunship pilots as they fight for survival against the krogan, vorcha, and the planet itself.-On Hold
1. Entry

**Hey Bros! I love the Mass Effect Series almost as much as Dragon Age, and so I've decided to write a fanfiction for it! If I like it, I will keep going! Wish me luck bros! Also: Sheogorath's Madness will have a new chapter before Christmas, you have my word. And Sin'Nati will be updated again before New Years. So, without further ado, I give you: the Warrior Queen

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_Not everyone gets the reason I named my Mantis the Warrior Queen. A gunny name would be much more fitting, most would think. Bumper, or Badger, or MacDuff. Something tough and intimidating, not some ballerina title like __**Warrior Queen**__. _

_Of course, no one expects a C7 marine pilot to have a specialization in classical literature either. Oh, right, no one knows what C7 even is. C stands for contract work, outsourcing. The seven basically means that the higher ups are getting a lot of profit for my services to the suits at Guanghui Solutions. _

_But back to the point, the idea that a marine would have a penchant for classical earth literature, everything from T.S Elliot to Ayn Rand to Sylvia Plath to Dostoevsky would scream schizophrenic. Still, with a suitcase full of books, I had left my bawling parents on Elysium to head to the Jon Grissom Academy, and from there I traveled to Arcturus to become a competent Mantis Gunship pilot. _

_It was a bit of a surprise, really, when Binary Helix had arrived on the station to look over the newest batch of G.I's. Still, we had stood straight with our uniforms pressed, ready to impress the company that our superiors told us was a vital provider for the military. Of course, we'd all had the genetic therapy by then, and the few biotics had been given free implants. We didn't need some Admiral's rubber stamp to tell us it was a big deal._

_Even so, everyone was surprised when they started picking people out of the line. When the suit-and-tie looked at me, I stepped forward without question, though I was more than a little worried as to why I was being dragged away from the men and women I had come to know as friends. _

_Those of us called out, and it couldn't have been more than eleven out of the hundred-or-so graduates, were funneled into a briefing room, where we were surrounded by more suits, projections of technology, and big-ass company logos. Guanghui Solutions, Sonax Industries, Binary Helix, ExoGeni, the names seemed to jump off the walls at us. _

"_Ladies and gentlemen," the head honcho had called to us, implying we were all equals. Yeah, and my annual salary may have just passed what he made in an hour. "You have all been given an opportunity to serve humanity. That is the purpose of your training thus far. I am here to offer you a… different sort of opportunity." _

_We had all glanced at each other and said nothing. We all wanted to hear more, were eager to hear more. "Your military provides great security to the expansion of the human race. It must: or else we will fall victim to those who would see us crumble. However, this is not humanity's only lone of defense." _

_We all glanced at one another, perplexed. The suit continued. "Humanity's greatest resource is its ingenuity, its will to think outside the box. With this, we will prove we are a match for any other civilization, as surely as any war or battle can. These great corporations you see," he continued, gesturing to the logos attached to the walls around the room, "all wish to see humanity rise in power just as much as you marines do. However, as I said, there is more than one way this is accomplished." Understanding started to dawn among us, and we waited silently to hear what part we would play in this "other way"._

_The man continued with his speech, "As I said, our corporations are working to harness humanity's ingenuity, to channel it into our intragalactic economy, to see it grow, strengthen, and match that of the Turians, the Salarians, and even the Asari. To this end, we've made a special deal with the Alliance military." _

_The suit made eye contact with each of the marines in the room. When our eyes met, I didn't see any lie in his face. But I still wanted to know what was going on. "We have made past agreements, sure. Your genetic recoding is proof enough of that. But this is something… extra." He smiled. "We've looked at the test scores among all of the new graduates at Arcturus, and the people sitting in this room, are, without doubt, some of the best that this galaxy has to offer. As such, we're here today to offer you new placement." _

_From there, each individual suit standing about in the room had come forward and handed us a large portfolio with our information on them. Flight scores, training reports, psych evaluations, the whole ten yards. My name was at the top of my dossier, along with sterling recommendations from all of the above. I flipped through the pile of papers, which went into greater detail about what my qualifications were. A glance told me everyone else was doing the same thing. _

"_Shows calmness under fire… pilots a Mantis like it was built for him," that raised an eyebrow. I was sure that instructor hated me. "Psychological evaluation shows that subject #503095 has no xenophobic tendencies, and is equally suited to working in deep space, as well as on terra firma." _

_At the end of all the papers had been a much smaller pamphlet, with my name stamped on it, beneath a Guanghui Solutions logo. Inside was a datapad, as well as a paper that needed a signature. My signature. "We realize this all may be a bit hard to swallow. Please, take the day to think it over, and a representative will be by your quarters later to receive and answer." With that, the suits left, and we were excused. _

_I want to say there was some struggle in my head over honor or morality or something. There wasn't. The datapad told me what was expected: I become a class C marine and work directly for the corporate armed forces, and in exchange the Alliance gets a big bonus. I get a higher life expectancy, less restrictive leave, more pay, and still get to kick ass for humans. I was sold at higher life expectancy, but the bonus was on the last disk. _

_I, specifically, was going to become a flight instructor. There weren't enough savvy pilots apparently, so I was going to beef up the numbers as well as being on active duty. Double the pay, and my own private quarters. When the representative had arrived, my application was signed and my bags were packed. _

_That was in 2184. The last two years have been, well, exciting, to say the least. Besides getting to see my parents on Elysium every few months or so, the private room is nice, especially when it's on a starship. Piloting the Warrior Queen around eight or nine planets, blasting slavers and wildlife and pirates never really gets old either. But the most fun is reserved for the training. Nothing beats seeing your recruits finally get a maneuver correctly, or get above 80% accuracy on the simulators. It's nice to know they look up to me, especially when they have to cover me in a firefight._

_But still, even after the training I've given them, they all give me a hard time about the Warrior Queen. They don't understand the symbolism. I've explained it dozens of times, but no one seems to get it! It's a Mantis gunship! Mantis, praying mantis, warrior, female, warrior queen! They chew the heads off their husbands for God's sake!

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_

Fawkes sighed as he replaced the letter on his desk, then leaned back and ran a finger through his unkempt brown hair. "Ashley can wait," he mused, standing up and pushing his chair back into the desk. Fawkes ducked underneath the top of his doorway as he stepped in to the hall of the starship. It was a tight fit for him, tall as he was, since ships had to have an economy of size. He planned to stretch once they got groundside.

Clicking his tongue as he went, Fawkes strode through the halls to the CIC of the ship. His briefing told him that they would be reaching their destination very soon. Garvug, if he remembered correctly. He hadn't enjoyed learning that bit of information: he hated operating in the Terminus Systems. Still, the itinerary had got his attention. This was more than just a clearing run to wipe the odd gang off the map.

Fawkes' ice blue eyes flashed as he went through the lowdown again in his mind. They were rare now, blue eyes. He knew there was going to be a _coup de tat_ that was supposed to replace the Wrund Clan, which ran the planet, with a pro-corporation regime that would allow corporation access. Guanghui Solutions wanted access to the ecosystem, to preserve the balance of nature for the unique life found this rock.

His job was supposed to be security, he remembered. Just be present to make sure a riot doesn't break out, or some Vorcha pack doesn't assault a commando team who wants into a building. He would be leading one of five gunship squadrons into Dhazil, the planetary capital of Garvug.

His thoughts were interrupted as he reached the CIC. He stepped through the double doors and into the only viewing station on the cruiser, the GSV Eclipse. He was joined by the captain of the ship, in his uniform, and the XO, in his full combat gear. Outside sat their destination, Garvug. They were ahead of schedule.

"What's the plan?" Fawkes asked the captain. The captain, an older man with an African complexion, swiveled back into his chair and looked at the fleet charts. "We're one of three corporation ships in the Paz system. The other is the ISV Excelsior, and the BSV Coral Reef. The coalition regs state we're to defer to the CO on the Excelsior for orders." Well, at least there's a chain of command, Fawkes mused silently.

Garvug seemed to be warning against any intrusion. Mountains and ice covered most of the planet, except for a narrow strip along the equator, where Dhazil was located. It was supposed to be a life-supporting world, but typical krogan mismanagement ensured over farming, pollution, and overfishing. Now, krogan and vorcha bands reigned in the wastes and cities, while corporations paid mercenaries to hold them off of some small enclaves.

Apparently, the corporations didn't like being pushed around by the hostile locals. Or hiring out for assistance. So, the Eclipse, Excelsior, and Coral Reef were in the Valhallan Threshold to give a spine to the new government in Dhazil. The captain basically affirmed this assumption with his next statement. "Status update from the ground says the coup is going to happen within the hour. We're going in to suppress riots and unrest. The chairmen want a clean transition."

"When do we deploy?" Fawkes asked, stepping up to look at the map of Dhazil himself. Most colonial cities grew around a central building, in this case the ancestral Wrund Clan fortress.

The captain turned to look at Fawkes. "Have your squadron assembled in the launch bay in three minutes. I'll have us in geosynchronous orbit over Dhazil by then. Get groundside and you'll be in the comm loop with spec ops on the ground." Fawkes nodded and turned on his heel, striding quickly towards the double doors of the CIC. He already had a prospective rally point from his brief view of the map.

* * *

Fawkes paced the hangar bay, suited up for atmospheric entry. The cockpits of the gunships were all airtight, but military training insisted on being ready for anything. Before him stood the rest of his squadron, nine of his gunship trainees that he had deemed ready for combat operations. The grim figures stood at attention, their own planetary entry suits strapped on as well. "So, we're headed to Garvug. From what I've heard, vorcha are probably harsher than krogan when it comes to war." Fawkes spoke clearly, his words reaching everyone. "So here's how this will go. Do as I say so you won't have to fight one head on. Now get to your ships and prepare for launch."

"Sir!" the assembled C.I's responded, before pairing off to head to their respective ships. Fawkes was joined by his co-pilot Tracy. He was dark-skinned and had close-cropped military-style hair. They were roughly the same height, though Tracy was significantly bigger, as he spent most of his time "training for the next big fight."

"Rousing speech as always sir," Tracy greeted him, as they headed to the Warrior Queen.

"Quiet," was the response as Fawkes slid into the pilot's seat. Tracy rolled his eyes and jumped into the back.

"So why do you call it the Warrior Queen anyways?" Tracy asked, much to Fawkes' annoyance. Tracy knew he hated the question, and never failed to ask before a combat sortie. Fawkes just gripped his controls all the tighter and signaled the rest of the ships to check in. Green lights all around told him the squadron was ready for combat.

"Raven One to bay doors, repeat, Raven One to bay doors, cockpits are sealed and we have green lights. Ready to head groundside, over."

A red light whirred to life, and a corresponding alarm sounded, warning everyone to get out before all the air left the room. After thirty seconds warning, the bay doors slid open, and the mass effect fields went up around the gunships as their cores came alive. The air roared out of the room, but the enclosed cockpits held enough air for them to get to the surface. "Everyone ready?" Fawkes asked over the comm. The affirmative responses sounded encouraging.

Delicately, Fawkes guided his gunship out of the hangar and into the blackness of space. In a few seconds, his ship's VI began warning him that the gravity of the planet was drawing them in, and they would soon pass the point of no return. "Program coordinates for Dhazil, set rally beacon at waypoint Echo; the open industrial park to the west of the fortress." The VI responded a few moments later that it had sent coordinates to the other four ships, and that the VIs would take over the miniscule changes in trajectory necessary for successful atmospheric entry.

Fawkes hit the comm button and contacted the CIC. "Raven One to command, we are at the away point."

"Rodger Raven One, the ground teams will see you on the surface."

Okay, simple enough, Fawkes thought. Get groundside, establish a rally point, and look terrifying. "All right Raven squadron, we're in radio silence until we get further instructions from the surface. Being your first actual atmosphere drop, please remember the basics. Your VI will do most of the work, let it. When you hit 30,000 feet, put on the reverse thrusters to decrease your speed. Do it right, and no one will notice you until you're right on top of them." With that, Fawkes shut off his comm and sat back in the pilot's chair.

Around the gunships, the air started to burn as they were pulled toward the planet. Fawkes and Tracy watched the planet get bigger and bigger in their windshield as they plummeted toward the ground. Fawkes was grateful for the mass effect field that blocked the g-forces from rupturing his stomach. "Hey Fawkes," Tracy said after a few minutes. "10,000 feet."

Fawkes chuckled. "Not today Tracy, we need to be professional."

Tracy was silent for another minute or so and then said "20,000."

"Deal," Fawkes agreed

The VI was micro-tuning their course, guiding them towards the small grey dot they both knew was Dhazil. The VI piped up again at 50,000 feet, then 40,000, then 35,000, then 30,000. The VI informed him that Raven Two, Raven Three, and Raven Five had begun to slow their descent, while Raven Four remained in freefall with them. Tracy sighed. "They'll beat us again."

Fawkes shrugged. "It's their risk to take." Free of the fires of the atmosphere, Tracy and Fawkes could make out the other gunship that was dropping with them. At 20,000 feet, Fawkes engaged his thrusters, and the other Mantis rocketed ahead of them. At what looked to be 15,000, they too finally engaged their thrusters and started to slow down. Fawkes breathed a sigh of relief. "Remind me why they're called the Heartbreaker again," he said.

Tracy shrugged. "Something to do with them being suicidal chicks, I guess."

The gunships continued to fall as Dhazil grew larger and larger in their sights. Fawkes began angling for the industrial park when he saw it, and noticed Raven Four doing the same. "Hey Tracy, now would be a good time to fire the signal beacon."

"Oh, right," was the reply, and hurriedly Tracy tapped on his console to bring up the necessary weapon system. "Aiming… just a moment… okay, we're in business." Though he didn't see it, Fawkes knew what had happened. A thin tube the size of a thumbtack had been shot out of the gunship to land at the precise spot programmed into the VI's rally beacon. The tube contained a nano-nuclear battery that broadcast a signal on a frequency detectable only to the ships back in space. It was a pain in the ass to find for someone on the ground who wanted to get rid of it, and they were generally more concerned with what came after anyways. Granted, the beacon would die in a few days, so it was impractical for anything other than the opening stages of an invasion, but it was still useful in securing a landing zone.

Close to the ground now, Fawkes righted his ship and came to a full stop, hovering above several open industrial complexes, probably warehouses. A beep from the VI told him that someone was on the comm for him. "This is Raven One, go ahead."

"Raven One, confirm you are corporate relief force."

"Confirmation code: Ikrit." Fawkes responded, remembering the code from his briefing.

"Confirmation received, counter is Jundrag. This is codename Abel."

"Confirmed that this is spec ops. What's the situation Abel?"

"The coup is on schedule, and we're picking up your landing beacon now. We'd like you keep in that general area. Keep the landing zone clear for backup and report anything you see that's out of the ordinary. Abel out."

Fawkes looked at Tracy and shrugged. "Now we wait. Easy."

* * *

The afternoon light dimmed as shuttles brought in ground troops. They quickly secured one of the warehouses, evicting the irate workmen and setting up a command center. Orders continued to flow between Abel and the ground troops. For now, the corporate forces were to spread out around the western half of the city, where the industrial infrastructure was located. Raven squadron was to continue sweeping the skies of the surrounding blocks to give advance warning of any attack.

As the sky continued to grow darker, Fawkes requested permission to do a deep sweep of the city, "to scout a possible route toward the fortress." After a moment of deliberation, the commanders on the ground gave their assent. "Just you, though. We can't lose all of our gunships to a surprise attack."

Fawkes spun his craft and boosted over the buildings, following the main thoroughfare toward the fortress of Haliot Wrund. On approach, he noticed fires in the surrounding buildings, fleeing civilians, and what looked like a massive army marching through the streets. "Hey Tracy?" Fawkes asked.

"Yeah?"was the subdued response.

"You seeing this?"

"Yeah."

"Doesn't look like the coup worked."

"Yeah."

"They look pissed."

"Yeah."

"You should start shooting now."

"Yeah."

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**Hope you guys all enjoyed my work! I love Mass Effect like no other! Review Review Review I'm begging you! And be sure to check out my other stories as well, listed on my author's page!**


	2. CounterAttack

**Note: I now know that it is the **_**Haliot**_** ancestral fortress, not the **_**Wrund**_** ancestral fortress.

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The Warrior Queen's mass accelerator guns lit up, pouring fire into the advancing army, which consisted of a vorcha vanguard backed up by some heavily armored krogan. Like experienced soldiers, the front few ranks broke and took cover from the weapons fire.

Over the comm network, everything was going to hell fast. A looped message from Abel was broadcasting, telling the ground forces to be prepared for the State army, which had discovered the corporate spec ops before they had finished preparations. Fawkes was shouting their position to anyone who would listen. "…Repeat, we have a massive State force headed south and west down the main thoroughfare. Contact immanent! Get the men ready!"

Ground command was slow to respond. Skirmishes were popping up all over the combat zone as the State forces became aware of the situation. Corporate forces were being stretched thin as everyone was requesting reinforcements. "Fuck!" Fawkes cussed as he shut off the comm "So much for smooth and painless."

To top it off, the cruisers in orbit were being challenged by a large State fleet of frigates and fighters. As Dhazil was encased in darkness, reinforcements were being called for from corporate forces waiting beyond the mass relay in the Valhallan threshold. What had been a subtle coup was now a pitched battle for survival for the corporate forces on the ground.

Fawkes strafed to the left, dodging several SAMS and taking a smattering of mass accelerator rounds on his kinetic barriers. The gunship's guns doggedly assaulted the source of the fire, cutting several vorcha and krogan to pieces. "Fawkes get us out of here before we have to dodge every missile on this rock!" Tracy yelled, and Fawkes opened the throttle wide, raising the ship several hundred feet and retreating from the now-entrenched army.

Their VI's advanced warning system went silent, telling Fawkes their opponents weren't about to launch another attack. So he spun and flew quickly back to the command post in the industrial park. He spotted the rest of Raven squadron, noting their weapons were in fire position. "Hey Tracy, we have a mission," he informed his co-pilot, seconds before his ship's VI told him that orders were being uploaded.

He recognized the voice of the XO from the Eclipse; "Raven One, Abel's transport was shot down over a residential area on the east side of Dhazil. He's requesting evac, and the Excelsior has given the go ahead. Take your squadron south first and cleanse the area of State air forces, then head east to Abel's last known location."

"All right Raven Squadron, fall into arrow formation," Fawkes commanded the other gunships, turning his craft south and cruising over the buildings. He was immediately flanked on either side by the rest of his squadron, and the Mantises flew south in a tight formation.

* * *

Their first warning of the enemies was the ship's VI warning of incoming fire from 7 o'clock. "Break up and engage!" Fawkes ordered, and the gunships scattered moments before an enemy formation tore through them. The VI highlighted nine enemy gunships in the viewport. Fawkes continued shouting orders. "Don't let them get above or behind you! Watch each others' six! Raven Three, you're too low, don't be a sitting duck!" He banked left, just dodging two missiles that passed beneath the Warrior Queen's wing. "Tracy on your left!"

"I see 'em!" Tracy responded, his mass accelerator guns up and firing, tearing at the shields of two enemies. One flew lower to evade the fire, while the other attempted to reverse and spin around. Fawkes followed this one, boosting higher to keep away from return fire and to give Tracy a clearer shot. After another moment, the gunship's shields gave out and the guns tore through the armor beneath. The craft exploded, and now there were only eight enemies to worry about.

The comm was alive with chatter, as Fawkes' squadron gave the enemy's positions to each other. Two more enemy gunships were shot down by Raven Three and Raven Five, working together to harry their opponents with mass accelerator fire before finishing them off with missiles. "Hey Fawkes, watch Raven Four," Tracy said.

The Heartbreaker had roped three opponents, and was leading them on a merry chase. By way of strafing and random directional changes, the pilots kept themselves out of direct fire from their pursuers, who doggedly kept up the game of cat and mouse. Suddenly, Raven Four made a break for the buildings below, on a direct collision course with an apartment complex. Two of the pursuers followed, while one, smarter than the rest, put on the breaks. At the last possible moment, the Heartbreaker boosted to the side and slid between two darkened buildings. One of the gunships managed to repeat the maneuver, while the other slammed headlong into the apartment, its shields useless against the building's solid bulk.

From within the labyrinth of apartments there was a second explosion, but Fawkes couldn't see who was still alive because a swift evasion of enemy fire took the scene from his viewport for a moment. The remaining enemy gunship was making a sweep of the wreckage when he returned, when suddenly Raven Four popped up above a nearby building and fired two missiles. The first took out the gunship's shields, the second connected with the cockpit and sent the craft crashing into the ground below.

Tracy whistled in praise as the Heartbreaker moved to engage the three remaining enemies. Fawkes grunted in response as he flew directly across the sights of another gunship. Turning to engage him, the enemy was ambushed by Raven Two and shot down. The remaining gunships tried to disengage and flee, but they were pursued and brought down by the rest of Raven squadron, who hadn't lost a single ship.

"All pilots check in, in sequence," Fawkes ordered, turning the ship to face his men.

A grizzled voice went first. "Raven Two, shields down, but we're okay."

Next was a young man's voice, sounding thoroughly unconfident. "Raven Three is all right. We're still at 50% shield strength."

"Raven Four is at full shields, and we're ready to get this show on the road," an impatient female voice shouted over the comm, making Fawkes wince.

"Raven Five is in the air. Ealos says he also wants to keep going," an asari voice lilted.

"All right, we're headed out. Back in formation everyone," Fawkes ordered, turning the craft east now, towards Abel's position. As before, he was flanked on both sides by his squadron.

As they approached Abel, the comm suddenly came alive with chatter. "Abel, this is Raven One. Can you read me?" Fawkes spoke clearly, wanting to be heard over the other voices.

The voice from earlier, now sounding harried, blared back at him in response. "This an exctract? About damned time! We're pinned in a large mansion, taking fire from the north and east! Can you get to us?"

Cresting a large bank of tall buildings, Fawkes could see the mansion and gunfight in his viewport. The mansion was surrounded by a high wall on the south and east side, and the south side opened onto a clearing with a landing pad, probably for a hovercar. "Abel, there's a hovercar pad on the south side of the mansion where we can land. Can you get to it?"

"Hang on a moment," Abel said, and a few seconds later several green pins popped up in Fawkes' viewport. The men below had activated their IFF's, allowing the pilots to see where they were. Four pins were located in a guest house on the west side of the mansion grounds, in what looked like a guest house. Snipers or wounded, most likely. Seven more were in the mansion proper, exchanging fire from various windows with enemies in another house on the northern side of the grounds. And the last five pins were strung out along the wall on the east side, fighting off a large group of krogan who were behind some wrecked vehicles. "Raven One, confirm you can see us."

"I see sixteen pins Abel. Looks like you guys are pretty spread out," Fawkes told him. "Our cargo bays can't hold more than four people maximum, so you need to pick and choose who you want out first." While Abel deliberated, Fawkes passed out orders. "Raven Four, you support the men along the wall where you can. Raven Five, you and I will demolish the house on the north side. Raven Three, land and pick up whomever Abel sends your way. Raven Two, cover him."

Everyone assented via comm, and the squadron broke off to their separate assignments. Raven Five fell in a little behind and to the left of Fawkes. "Seranni, you know what to do?"

"As always, sir," came the dutiful response. The two gunships broke off and engaged the enemies in the house separately. Fawkes kept his ship back, and let Tracy pick off individual targets with the mass accelerator guns. Raven Five went in fast and unloaded two missiles directly into the enemy's teeth, quickly flying high and away from a possible counter-attack.

Elsewhere, Raven Four was strafing away from enemy fire, retaliating with punishing volleys of their own against the ground forces. The darkened streets below were lit by carcasses of grounded hovercars, ripped to shreds and smoldering by sustained weapons fire. From out of nowhere, a mass accelerator cannon started shooting, ripping into the gunship's shields. Raven Four immediately shifted and dropped, slipping away from the devastating fire before the shields gave way. The gunner responded by sending a volley of missiles screaming towards the cannon, and was rewarded with a light show featuring severed vorcha limbs and armaments being blown to pieces.

"My cargo is full sir!" called Raven Three, taking off and closing their narrow bay doors. "Requesting further instructions!"

"Right! Switch places with Raven Two!" Fawkes instructed. "Abel, send the next four men to the southern landing pad."

"Copy that Raven One! Keep up the close air support!" All five men along eastern wall fell back into the mansion itself. Noticing the lack of opposition, the pinned krogan in the street pressed their advantage. The walking tanks rushed to cover behind the wall, heedless of the Heartbreaker's suppression fire. Several SAMs flew to meet the lone Mantis, and from somewhere another mass accelerator cannon was up and firing.

"Seranni, go and support Raven Four," Fawkes ordered, rising above an approaching rocket while Tracy shot the vorcha who had fired it.

"Copy that sir." The other gunship spun and zoomed off to assist the harried Heartbreaker, who was still evading the mass accelerator fire.

"Sir! My cargo bay is full. Send in the next transport." Raven Two took off from the hovercar pad and moved to join Raven Three.

"All right. Abel, send your next four men over. Raven Five, change in plans, come and pick up this batch. Everyone else, protect the mansion. Don't let a single enemy inside until Seranni is away."

The lack of ground support was starting to show, now. With only four men covering the mansion from two directions, the enemies were getting bolder, rushing forward more before getting behind cover. On the northern side of the mansion, vorcha sprinted from the now-demolished house towards the, unhindered by the defenders and unfazed by what few rockets the Ravens had left to throw at them. "We're all out of rockets," Tracy informed Fawkes.

"So is everyone else," Fawkes responded, banking and going low, while Tracy kept the trigger down. Mass accelerated slugs raining over the goblins, forcing them to take cover for a few moments before rushing forward again.

On the east side, there were now two mass accelerator cannons up, and no one had enough shields to risk taking one out. All the defenders could do was strafe away from the fire and keep harrying the advancing krogan, slowing their advance across the estate grounds to the mansion itself.

"Sir, that's four more safe and sound," Seranni's voice sang over the comm as she rose from the ground.

"All right Abel, get the hell out of there," Fawkes ordered, turning and booking it toward the hovercar pad. "Everyone fall back to the pad and cover their retreat. I'll land myself this time."

Fawkes pointed his ship toward the pad and accelerated, then pulled up and shut off the eezo core at the last moment. The added mass of the ship, combined with the lack of propulsion, served to make a quick, if rough, landing for the two pilots. The doors behind the cockpit slid open, waiting for the arrival of the last four troopers. Up above, the four gunners kept their fingers on the trigger, suppressing the state troops now inside the mansion.

Four figures in black combat armor sprinted towards the gunship, the only thing marking them as friends being the green pins on Fawkes' viewport. They scrambled into the cargo bay and yelled for the pilot to take off. The doors slid shut as the gunship lifted off the ground. Swiftly banking left, away from several rockets, Fawkes climbed rapidly to rejoin his squadron.

"Raven One to ground command. We've secured Abel and are headed back to the Echo rally point."

"Rodger that Raven one, we'll have a space cleared for you."

The squadron made a hard burn back to safer skies, and was soon above their command center. The ship's VI told him where ground command wanted him to put down. After landing, the ships were surrounded by maintenance drones refitting weapons and charging the shields. The pilots were swarmed by the rescued troops, who all wanted a look at their saviors.

Abel strode over to Fawkes and shook his hand. "That was some brilliant flying you guys pulled off. I hope I get to work with you in the future." Abel's skin, hair, and eyes were tinged green. Fawkes had heard of humans experimenting with pigmentation, but had never seen someone actually go through with the procedure.

Grinning, he returned the handshake warmly. "Don't sell yourself short, your men could've held out all night if they needed to. But still, I appreciate the praise."

"Abel! Captain Fawkes! Ground Command has new orders for you." Both men rolled their eyes, then turned to follow the messenger.

They went into the commandeered warehouse, up some stairs, and into what looked to be a foreman's office. A viewing screen along the wall had real-time positions of all the corporate forces inside Dhazil, as well as where the known State forces were located. Combat zones were tinged orange. From the looks of things, The west and south-center sections of the city were in corporate hands. The central and center-north were in dispute, with State forces sending reinforcements into the combat zones. The entire east side, where Fawkes and the Ravens had just been, was in firm state control. That wasn't even mentioning the pockets of resistance within the corporatist territory. All along the west side, orange dots indicated a firefight. The meaning was clear enough to Fawkes: Dhazil was going to be an uphill fight.

It was clear Abel and Fawkes were the last to arrive in the room. Several other ranking officers were seated around the office, and the ranking official in the room, an armor commander from Sonax, looked eager to get things started. "Right! Everyone, here is the situation. Our cruisers in space managed to get a call out to reinforcements before the State forces took down the comm buoys around Paz. Two more Sonax cruisers, three Guanghui frigates, and a Binary Cruiser with three extra fighter squadrons managed to break into the system. We're due to get reinforcements within the hour."

He touched the viewing screen, and the map zoomed in over the center of the city. "We can't keep up pressure in the center. We just don't have the manpower. The trouble is," he continued, scrolling to the left, following a street across the city before stopping at their current location, "we're doomed if they take it now. It gives them a spearhead right to our heart."

"Are we the only command center in the city?" Fawkes asked. "I thought five gunship squadrons were going to drop into Dhazil."

The armor commander shook his head. "Two of those came in too close to the fortress and were shot down. But we managed to set up a southern command post here," he indicated on the map, "in an old mineral processing facility. But they're in as bad a spot as we are. Look," he showed them, scrolling across from the southern command post to the fighting in the southern portion of the city. "They're only a few blocks short of being wiped out."

Fawkes nodded. The situation was pretty dire at this point. Without a command center, modern infantry tactics and organization were impossible. The corporate forces would be reduced to roving guerilla bands, easy pickings for the more numerous and well organized State army.

"Seeing as how there's no other options," the armor commander went on, "I'm going to organize a strategic withdrawal into the mountains." The screen scrolled to the southwest, coming to a stop over a valley in the mountain range. "There's enough space here to land shuttles and gunships, as well as drive APCs in and out. Once the advance team gives the all clear, we'll start hauling ass over there to get the hell out of this frying pan."

Fawkes stepped forward. "Permission to be part of the advance team," he stated. "We can be in and out before anyone else."

The armor commander shook his head. "No, I have a special assignment for your squadron. Abel!"

"Sir!" the spec ops man immediately snapped to attention.

"Get a couple of Makos for your team. I'll download a route onto your datapad. I want to know what's out there before first light."

Abel nodded and strode quickly from the room. The armor commander continued handing out assignments for the assembled brass. As the room thinned out, Fawkes was conscious of being ignored. He signed, and waited calmly in a corner, knowing the commander would talk to him once everyone else was gone.

After telling the last of the officers left, the armor commander turned to Fawkes. "As I said, I have a special mission for you."

Fawkes pushed himself off of the wall he was leaning against and stood at attention, waiting for orders.

"How much to you know about vorcha?" the commander asked.

"Not a lot. They seem to like hitting each other more than talking, though."

The commander laughed. "Well, I hope you like getting hit."

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**Thanks go out to Swordsman of Shadow for being my first reviewer! Everyone else should try to be as cool as him and review a whole ton!**


	3. Guanghui Solutions Employee Evaluations

**Okay guys, I'm about to do something I would never recommend anyone else ever do with their stories ever. I'm going to do a really lame series of character intros, and just assume everyone knows who these people are for the rest of the story. Please don't hate me, I just don't know when I can fit this all in!

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Guanghui Solutions Employee Evaluation: Employee #119196 Gunner, Raven One (Warrior Queen)

Name: Tracy Johannes

Age: 26

Gender: Male

Species: Human (African Descended)

Height: 6'2

Weight: 245 lbs.

Skin: Dark brown

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Crisp military cut, coarse weave common with African continent ancestry.

Notable Features: Very well-muscled, large

Psychological Evaluation: Tracy is very devoted to physical excellence. He calls it "being ready" but he never knows for what. It stands to reason that, at a younger age, he was victimized traumatically, and this has profoundly affected him in his later life. However, it is unknown if he is negatively affected by his attention to exercise.

Captain's notes: _Tracy is a pretty nice guy, once you get past the guns. Sure, he exercises a lot, but I won't be complaining when he kicks a krogan's ass. He's a great shot, and I'd rather worry about him being in peak condition than being all weepy while we're in a dogfight. It's not like he has an eating problem, unless you consider feeding the vorcha pack that lives in his gut a problem.

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_

Guanghui Solutions Employee Evaluation: Employee #195838 Pilot, Raven Two (Frontrunner)

Name: Mac Verser

Age: 56

Gender: Male

Species: Human (Italian Descended)

Height: 5'6

Weight: 172 lbs.

Skin: White

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Long, white, tied into a ponytail

Noteable Features: long, jagged scar along his right cheek, and a large burn across his throat.

Psychological Evaluation: The burn mark on his throat has caused an alteration in his voice. This is believed to cause an aversion to speech. However, he does seem willing to communicate with a "trusted few."

Captain's notes: _Mac is a decent guy. He's just not used to using his voice anymore, because of the way he thinks he sounds. He doesn't really like intimidating people, but he comes off that way to almost everyone who listens to him, so he keeps quiet. I can't say why, he tells the most hilarious war stories you've ever heard. And his piloting? That goes without saying.

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_

Guanghui Solutions Employee Evaluation: Employee #948472 Gunner, Raven Two (Frontrunner)

Name: John Chollus

Age: 30

Gender: Male

Species: Human (Welsh Descended)

Height: 5'4

Weight: 165 lbs.

Skin: Tan

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Shaved

Notable Features: Full beard, with braided ends

Psychological Evaluation: Above average love for violence. Amusement at other's misfortune is worrisome at best, potentially lethal at worst.

Captain's notes: _John is a basket case. He joined the corporations only because we pay more, and Shepard wiped out his mercenary company. He loves to shoot the guns on that ship way too much. I'm just glad he hits the enemy as much as he does. I had a private conversation with Mac about getting him fired, Mac said "I'll keep him in line." There haven't been any incidents, so I'm assuming they have some sort of understanding.

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_

Guanghui Solutions Employee Evaluation: Employee #857838 Pilot, Raven 3 (Badger)

Name: Colin MacReedy

Age: 22

Gender: Male

Species: Human (Scandinavian Descended)

Height: 5'9

Weight: 145 lbs.

Skin: White

Eyes: Green

Hair: Blonde, unkempt

Notable Features: Tattoo on the left side of his face, a symbol similar to the one used by the Global Maritime Justice organization on Trident, where he comes from.

Psychological Evaluation: Colin suffers from a very mild case of Autism, mainly evident in his interactions with other people. The lack of a quality environment on Trident reinforced his feelings of inferiority to others because of his lack of social ability.

Captain's notes: _Colin is a good kid. He flies like a dream, and is the first one to help out his friends in the field. Whatever happened to him on Trident, he's come into full bloom in the regimented military lifestyle he's been in these last few years. Sometime soon I'll bring him aside and talk about a promotion. He deserves it, and I think he needs it too.

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_

Guanghui Solutions Employee Evaluation: Employee #922834 Gunner, Raven Three (Badger)

Name: Julie Harbraka

Age: 32

Gender: Female

Species: Human (Philippine Descended)

Height: 5'6

Weight: 135 lbs

Skin: Dark Tan

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Black, down to shoulders

Notable Features: None

Psychological Evaluation: Bemoans the fact that she is infertile. Has taken on a mother-son relationship with Colin MacReedy, a co-worker. Unknown if this is reciprocated, or has adverse effects on the job.

Captain's notes: _Julia is a nice girl, and a wicked shot. The first thing she always tells all her friends is that she wishes she had a kid of her own. I think that's why she likes Colin so much; he's like a son to her. He sure as hell doesn't mind the attention, especially not from a pretty woman like Julia. I'll have to watch them both.

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_

Guanghui Solutions Employee Evaluation: Employee #848273 Pilot, Raven Four (Heartbreaker)

Name: Shawna Campbell

Age: 22

Gender: Female

Species: Human (German Descended)

Height: 5'4

Weight: 125 lbs.

Skin: White

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Blonde

Notable Features: Scarring of the wrists (both hands)

Psychological Evaluation: Shawna has deep emotional fractures, stemming from past trauma. This interferes with her everyday interactions, as she keeps on the defensive and views every conversation as a challenge. The lack of continued relationships makes her think everyone is against her, in a self-defeating cycle.

Captain's notes: _I've about given up with Shawna. If she didn't keep coming back from all her sorties, I'd call her flying suicidal. Now, I'm leaning towards borderline insane. I've reprimanded her countless times, but it never fazes her. I can't drop her; I don't have a replacement handy. So, until something actually happens, I'm stuck fearing the worst.

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_

Guanghui Solutions Employee Evaluation: Employee #485727 Gunner, Raven Four (Heartbreaker)

Name: Jia Qing

Age: 22

Gender: Female

Species: Human (Mandarin Descended)

HeightL 5'1

Skin: White

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Black

Notable Features: none

Psychological Evaluation: Jia Qing feels she has a lot to make up for. She takes her height, gender, and species as obstacles to overcome on the galactic stage. She feels, and is partly justified, that people look down on her, and that to overcome this, she has to be the best possible at everything she does.

Captain's notes: _Jia Qing, or Vivian, as she wants people to call her, is a perfectionist. To an extreme. I told her once that she was too stingy with the rockets. She spent hours in the simulator trying to get the best possible score using only the rockets. She was at 88%! Why she's in this line of work, I have no idea. I've approached her repeatedly about Shawna, (she's the third gunner in two years) but she hasn't complained yet.

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_

Guanghui Solutions Employee Evaluation: Employee #857282 Pilot, Raven 5 (Lilith)

Name: Seranni M'ælo

Age: 213

Gender: Asari

Species: Asari

Height: 5'6

Weight: 135 lbs.

Skin: Sky Blue

Eyes: Light Purple

Hair: N/A

Notable Features: Distinct Facial Tattoos, presumably ceremonial to her species in meaning.

Psychological Evaluation: From what is known of Asari psychology, Seranni is currently in her first stage of development, the Maiden stage. Like most of her species during this time, she is more concerned with finding herself, before moving on to helping the rest of her people in her later stages. She has a relationship with her co-worker, Ealos Mato

Captain's notes: _Seranni is your typical young Asari. She's curious, adventurous, and likes danger. She wanted to be a pilot, and figured the best way was to join us. After a trial run with her, I recommended she be given a contract immediately. She's a natural. The one problem I have is; she draws a lot of eyes, almost as much as her boyfriend. I'll have to watch this.

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_

Guanghui Solutions Employee Evaluation: Employee #856737 Gunner, Raven 5 (Lilith)

Name: Ealos Mato

Age: 27

Gender: Male

Species: Turian

Height: 6'4

Weight: 227 lbs.

Skin: Dark Gray Carapace

Eyes: Black

Hair: N/A

Notable Features: Posses tattoos similar to those worn by others of his species, limited knowledge of Turian customs suggest tribute to ancestry.

Psychological Evaluation: Ealos exhibits traditional team-building skills seen in Turians, denial of self-desire for the good of the whole group, and a sense of moral uprightness. Strict adherence to this policy has brought him into conflict with squadron members in the past. Reports sent to commanding officer. Is in a relationship with co-worker Seranni M'ælo

Captain's notes: _Ealos and Seranni were a package deal. It's a good thing he can shoot, because I wasn't about to bring a useless Turian onto a human squadron. I've had to stop him from killing Shawna and John several times now, though he seems to get on well enough with everyone else. Still, people outside of our squadron watch him in an odd way. I make it a habit to keep him close, when I can.

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_**Sorry Guys. Please, don't hate me for this. Honestly, I just didn't know where I was going to introduce ten characters and move the plot along at the same time. I'm not that good of a writer. But please, keep reading. It will get better, I swear. **


	4. Recruiting

**Hey guys! Keep up the reviews! I'm thoroughly enjoying all the positive feedback I'm getting, and I hope to get more soon!

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The gunships flew quickly in formation, high above the battles in the city below. The sounds on Fawkes' comm weren't as desperate as they had been earlier in the night, but things still felt pretty grim. It was mostly pride though; no one appreciated being told they had to retreat, withdraw, whatever the commander had called it.

The squadron was silent as they cruised over the flashes of gunfire, evading dogfights between other air forces. Two frigates and some fighters had come down from on high to sanitize the airspace, giving Raven Squadron a chance to move unnoticed across the skies. Fawkes' mind turned their mission over in his mind, before he finally decided to tell everyone what was about to happen.

"Guys, we've been sent to do a bit of diplomacy. Some of Abel's local contacts have expressed interest in… supporting the corporate takeover." He waited a moment before continuing. "The vorcha will be meeting us-"

"Vorcha? We're going to find some vorcha?" Shawna's voice blared over the comm, her tone thick with contempt. "Why the hell do we need those goblins? We-!"

"We're losing, Shawna." Mac's gravelly tone silenced the tirade before it could get out of hand. Mac didn't continue on, however, and the squadron was silent as it continued to fly across Dhazil.

"Ealos wishes to ask how the mission will progress," Seranni stated, breaking the silence.

"We're going to meet with some vorcha pack leaders who want to talk terms. "

"Can they not simply contact our commanders from their location?" Seranni pressed. "Why must we meet them in person?"

"Because it's a trap, obviously," Shawna drawled, sounding utterly bored with the conversation.

"Shawna, please stop tainting good air with your statements," Fawkes requested before pressing on. "Anyways, vorcha diplomacy doesn't really work over a hologram or extranet link. Besides, they asked us to come in person, and we're not about to turn away allies by insisting on expediency."

"Are we going to have to carry some vorcha back with us?" Colin asked, sounding worried.

"No idea," Fawkes admitted. "We very well could be."

"Or we could end up running from an army of crazed super-goblins who want to kill us," Shawna delightfully pointed out.

"What did I just tell you?" Fawkes demanded. "If you're not going to use this planet's air for useful things then stop breathing it!"

The squadron continued on its way, soon passing the limits of Dhazil and flying over mountainous countryside. Outside, the cold night air frosted over the canopy of the gunships. Fawkes told everyone to let the VI take over while they couldn't see: he trusted it enough to avoid a collision with a cliff.

They were headed south, to where the Raask vorcha pack had carved out their place on this rock. Before Clan Haliot had taken over, they had been a force to be reckoned with inside Dhazil. When Wrund had taken power though, they had pushed out of the city, probably for not immediately supporting him. The Raask had since been reduced to raiding State caravans for weapons and vital supplies. What set them apart from other bandit packs was their calling card: the bodies of the caravans they hit were always piled up and burnt. Short lived though they were, vorcha never forgive grudges.

The Vi beeped with a message, letting the pilots know that a landing node, basically an IFF transmitter that broadcasted "Land Here!" to everyone, was coming up. "This is the place guys," Fawkes told them. "Seranni, you and Ealos are setting down with me and Tracy. Mac, you're in charge of things up here while I'm on the ground. Tell John that if he so much as sneezes without your say, I will personally tell Tracy to stomp him into a bloody pulp."

"He heard you," Mac responded, his voice filled with humor.

"Colin, you and Shawna take orders from Mac. If things are going badly, you guys will probably know when we do."

"Good luck," Colin said as the Warrior Queen and Ardat-Lili dropped to the ground.

"We're going to run silent," Mac ordered the remaining gunships, who formed up behind him. "I don't want an ambush to shoot us down."

"Seranni, Ealos will be fine, but the rest of us need to put on some winter gear so we don't freeze." Fawkes knew most combat troops had armor designed to keep them warm, but gunship pilots weren't so lucky. And the VI told him it was minus 40F outside.

"Understood sir," the asari said as her ship touched down. Fawkes' followed soon after, and the gunships powered down. Fawkes opened the cockpit and jumped down the side of the ship. On the underside, behind the cargo bay, was an emergency kit that included extreme condition body suits. The premise was simple: Fawkes pulled a mound of synthetic fabric over him big enough for a village of krogan. Then he tapped a button, sending an electrical current throughout the material. The fabric tightened considerably, encasing him in a full-body suit. The only thing not covered was his face, but a special mask was included in the emergency kit as well.

"I'll never get used to these," Tracy complained, flexing his fingers inside of the suit.

Fawkes pulled on his facemask. "It's better than freezing to death," he said. Already he felt better as the synthetic fibers heating his body back to optimal temperature. Technology was great.

Ealos and Seranni moved to join their companions. Seranni was sporting her own cold suit, while Ealos was just wearing his airtight entry uniform. Turians were much more at home in cold temperatures than asari or humans. Fawkes took the lead and strode toward the landing node, wanting to get this over with more than anything else. They had landed a distance away, not wanting to put their ships too close to the light the node cast in case they had to make a harrowing escape.

"Stop! We coming forward," a harsh voice commanded as the group drew close to the landing node. Thanks to its bright glow, Fawkes could make out several figures in the shadows across from them. One strode forward, revealing itself to be a vorcha. "We want see you humans. No tricks!"

"No tricks," Fawkes agreed, holding up his hands. He turned and murmured to his team; "Seranni, come forward with me. Ealos, Tracy, stay shadowed and look mysteriously intimidating." Together, the human and asari stepped into the light.

The vorcha before them was typical of the species: squat, with red eyes and lanky, seemingly awkward limbs ending in sharp claws. This one wasn't wearing any protection against the cold: the vorcha on this planet had long ago adapted to its temperature changes. Its skin was a darker version of the usual yellow, and it took Fawkes a moment to realize why: a short fur covered the vorcha's entire body.

"We thought only humans come. Why asari here?" the vorcha demanded, raising an assault rifle.

Fawkes stepped in front of Seranni and held up his hands higher. "She was hired by the corporation you're negotiating with. She's as loyal as any human employee."

The vorcha hissed, then lowered his weapon. "Tell leaders next time tell us who comes before they get here. Easier to prepare that way."

"I'll do that," Fawkes promised, dipping his head in an exaggerated gesture of acceptance. Sucking up never hurt, he reasoned.

The vorcha sniffed, then turned and waved to the other figures still in the darkness. "Come now! We make deal!" he called to them. Other vorcha stepped into the light, but stayed behind the one who had come first. He was obviously the leader. In all, there were about seven of the creatures, all various colors, some furred, some not, all carrying weapons.

Derek motioned for Tracy and Ealos to stay back for now. "My names is Fawkes Starkweather," he introduced himself. "I work for Guanghui Solutions as a commissioned marine officer. This is my subordinate, Seranni M'ælo."

The vorcha looked from one to the other as Fawkes spoke. "Jask. Raask pack," he said, thumping his chest. He swept an arm behind him, indicating the other vorcha. "Other packs. Also want make deals with corporations. Coporations bring food and guns. We need."

"You want us to supply you?" Fawkes asked.

The vorcha nodded excitedly. "We need guns and food. Pack must grow strong again if we take Dhazil back."

"How will you help us?" Fawkes asked. "What makes it worth our while?"

Jask made a frustrated noise, seeming impatient with the negotiations. "We talk to other packs. Tell them corporations do more for us than krogan can. Some listen, stop fighting, maybe switch sides."

"We'll need proof that you're working with us," Fawkes said. "No offense toward you, but it's prudent to be on the safe side when dealing with vorcha."

Jask tilted his head as he considered this, then made an odd barking sound over and over. Confused, Fawkes looked to Seranni for support. "Laughing," she told him softly.

"This human is smart. I like," the vorcha declared. "We send vorcha to new base, tell them where local packs are, who they prefer. Will be interesting to watch humans fighting krogan."

"Glad you think so," Fawkes responded.

Jask made the barking laugh again, then stepped forward. "We meet and shake hands. Make agreement, how you humans say, final." At this, Fawkes also stepped forward. He was tensed, ready to throw the vorcha if he tried something. Though he supposed that Jask was more used to fighting than he was, and probably would disembowel him before he knew what was happening.

"Pleasure doing business with you," Fawkes said, taking the vorcha's hand and shaking it. The fur was coarse, and the skin beneath rippled with powerful muscle. Jask's claws scraped against the suit's material. Fawkes smiled at the vorcha before he released his hand and stepped back.

"We leave now, go make packs ready for war," Jask said, turning and motioning for the vorcha behind him to get moving.

"Not so fast, goblin," a deep voice ordered. Fawkes and Jask spun to face the newcomer. A dozen krogan marched into the light of the node, to stand equally close to both Fawkes and Jask. Many more stood in the shadows. Fawkes motioned urgently to Tracy and Ealos, who slipped further into the darkness, back towards the gunships. The krogan didn't appear to notice.

Jask hissed at the krogan leader, a massive specimen with a brown crest. "You should not be here Krul! You not welcome!"

The krogan, armed to the teeth, laughed. It was a cold, throaty, intimidating sound. "You seem to have forgotten your place, Jask. You can't go switching sides when you're indebted to us for your protection."

Fawkes reached out and pulled Seranni slightly closer, then leaned back to whisper to her. "If it comes to a fight, throw them." Her mask and suit hid her identity as an asari, so the krogan weren't on guard for a biotic attack.

Jask was angrily shouting at the krogan, his words half garbled by his spitting rage. "We not owe you anything! Raask made to leave Dhazil! We make our new home here, take what we can from fat krogan in city! You come to our home, say we trespass! Kill our packs! We find new allies, better than krogan! Take Dhazil, make _you_ pay for intruding!"

The krogan laughed and pulled the shotgun from his back. "Stupid goblin. You think you're getting away from here? We'll kill you, and then your pack for letting you come here." Jask hissed again, and the vorcha behind him leveled their own weapons at the krogan. Some of the other krogan came forward to stand with their leader, their weapons pointed at the vorcha. Fawkes drew his pistol, wishing he had a bigger gun. He looked to Seranni, and noticed the subtle ripples in the space around her.

Everything happened at once. One moment the krogan were in a standoff with the vorcha, the next a ripple tore through the air, knocking them back and creating confusion. Jask growled and started shooting. From the direction of the landed gunships, a mass accelerator gun started firing, ripping through krogan shields, armor, and skin.

Fawkes acted quickly. He ran up to Jask, who was still shooting wildly, and pulled hard on the vorcha's arm. "Jask, we can't fight them all! We need to run!"

The vorcha turned and hissed at him, throwing Fawkes to the ground. "We no run human! Stand and fight! Kill Krul and take land back!"

"Get to cover and surround them! Don't let anyone escape!" Krul's voice sounded over the gunfire, and the struggling krogan quickly recovered and retreated into the darkness. Jask tried to give chase, but Fawkes grabbed his arm and held him back.

"Jask! There are two dozen at least! We're all dead if we can't get away. Think of your pack! Will you really help them by dying here?"

Jask finally stopped for a second, still looking balefully at the retreating krogan. He made a low moaning sound of hatred, before turning to Fawkes. "Human is right. We run now, come back stronger and take land back."

Fawkes nodded. "Call the others, tell them to follow us. We're going to take the gunships and fly out of here."

Jask nodded. "Follow the humans! We get away, then return to packs and prepare for battle!" The other vorcha were startled, but obviously feared Jask's wrath more than they wanted to fight. They turned tail and started running in the direction Fawkes had come from.

"Seranni, we're leaving!" Fawkes ordered. The asari didn't speak, but nodded and turned to follow the retreating vorcha. Before going after them, Fawkes shot the landing node. The device buzzed, then died. The light flickered off, draping the surroundings in darkness and hiding the fleeing vorcha and asari. He then turned and took off after the rest of the group, eager to be as far away from the vengeful krogan as possible.

Gunfire zipped past them both directions as they fled. Fawkes felt rather than saw the projectiles, the air rippling as the sand sized rounds flew past him at impossible speeds. After what felt like an eternity, but really couldn't have been more than thirty seconds, he was at his ship. The vorcha were already piled into the cargo bay and strapped down. Seranni and Fawkes heaved themselves into the cockpits while their gunners kept their fingers on the mass accelerator trigger.

Fawkes slammed the canopy shut and primed the eezo core. The VI warned of multiple unidentified signatures approaching, but Fawkes ignored it and focused on lifting off. The engines roared to life, and the gunship lifted from the ground. Fawkes switched on the searchlights, and the VI guided them to the nearest krogan, only a few feet away from the ship.

He spotted one leveling a SAM directly at the Mantis, and knew his shields wouldn't come on soon enough to absorb the blow. Before he could tell Tracy they were about to die, a hail of gunfire from the vorcha in the cargo bay brought the krogan down. "Take us up human!" Jask shouted from somewhere behind him. "We die if you asleep in there!" Fawkes laughed, in spite of the situation, and opened the throttle wide. The Warrior Queen shot forward before any other krogan could get a shot off.

The VI beeped, and Fawkes had to pull hard on the controls to gain altitude before he slammed into a cliff face. The Warrior Queen went vertical, the tail thrusters close enough to the rock face to turn it orange from the heat. Fawkes guided the gunship away from outcroppings not daring to slow down for fear of attack while his shields were down. He breathed a sigh of relief when he shot into the open air. "Seranni, do you copy?" he half-shouted, hoping she was all right.

"We're right behind you captain, and we brought some friends." Sure enough, Fawkes banked and saw Seranni, who had stripped off her face mask and was grinning as she waved to him from her cockpit.

"Mac, where are you?" he asked next, belatedly remembering the rest of his squadron.

"Chasing your krogan friends through a valley," was the predictably curt response. The gunship's VI displayed their position to Fawkes.

"This whole place is an ambush waiting to happen. They knew the vorcha were planning on being here, we can't take the risk of running into their friends just to chase them down. Break off."

"But they're right here!" Shawna protested, keeping her ship level while Mac and Colin peeled away. "We can kill every single one in the next ten minutes!"

Light was coming into the horizon as Fawkes fumed over the pilot of Raven Four. "Shawna, please don't drag Vivian with you to an inglorious death. Please." Grumbling Heartbreaker continued as the ship pulled up from the valley below and fell in with the rest of the squadron. Together, they flew northwest, back to Dhazil.

* * *

As they passed the city limits, Fawkes made an executive decision. "We're not going to go through," he told everyone.

"Why the hell not?" Shawna demanded. "It will take us twice as long to get back!"

"Because I'd rather not get shot down," Fawkes retorted. "If we make a hard burn, we can get back before it's completely light, and get some sleep."

"Julia likes the idea of sleep," Colin put in. "But she also wants to keep everyone safe."

"You're all hopeless!" Shawna declared, though her course didn't change. The squadron put on more speed, and the buildings whizzed by on the right side as the Ravens made their way to a deserved rest. In the distance, they could see dogfights as frigates and fighters battled for air supremacy. Fawkes assumed the space warfare was more one-sided, since he didn't believe the krogan had access to cruiser-class ships.

"Guns," Mac mused, meaning the artillery fire that was getting louder the further west they went. Sure enough, Fawkes could Sonax artillery was shelling the city's industrial sector from the mountains outside of town. More reinforcements most likely. The squadron passed over several divisions of infantry and armor as they pushed into the city, clearing resistance left after the artillery barrage.

The corporate ground command came into view after a few more minutes of flying, just as the last of the darkness left the sky. "We've officially survived our first night on Garvug guys!" Fawkes said cheerfully. "Congratulations!"

The VI beeped, indicating a call was coming in over the comm. "Raven One this is flight control, continue west to the landing zone. We also have a request for your mission's status report."

"We succeeded in making contact with the vorcha sympathizers, but were ambushed by a band of krogan who knew what was going on. We had to extract the vorcha for their own safety, and they're currently with us." Fawkes held his breath, hoping he wasn't about to be court-martialed for bringing the vorcha into the heart of corporate territory.

A moment's pause, then; "we understand Raven One. Land, get some rest, then report to the command vehicle for debriefing. The vorcha are to head with security to Abel's location."

"Thank you. Make sure the people escorting them know not to be rough: they'll just get worse back." There was no response, and Fawkes put his gunship down. He hit the button on his heating suit, and the whole thing pulled apart and retracted into the control device. It could now be recharged and reused. Fawkes leaned back in his chair, taking a deep, steadying breath, before opening the canopy. He and Tracy slid from the cockpit, meeting their vorcha passengers on the ground.

Jask grasped Fawkes' shoulder. "You good fighter. Smart leader also. Not wise to disobey you."

Fawkes smiled and shook his head, embarrassed at the praise. "People do anyways."

The vorcha looked past him, and from the corner of his eye Fawkes spotted Shawna glaring at them. "She trouble," Jask warned in a low voice. "Wants to run pack also. Willing to fight for it."

Fawkes nodded. "I know." He looked up and spotted approaching uniformed guards. "Jask, these men will take you to Abel," he told the vorcha, spinning him around and indicating the armed enforcers with a pointing finger. "They won't hurt you, but keep civil."

Jask made the barking laugh. "We see the green one? He interesting too. We have fun fighting with humans!" The vorcha trudged off, with the guards in tow and the other vorcha following behind.

Fawkes turned to the rest of his squadron, grouped behind him, weariness set in the lines of their faces. "We can eat and rest," he said. "I'll let you know when it's time for our next sortie."

At that, ten bodies trudged off to the barracks, each determined to hit the sack like a ton of bricks.


	5. Interview

**Hey bros! Mass Effect 2 comes out for the PS3 come Tuesday! I'm so fucking excited I can't stand it! As always read and review and PM me with any questions. And if I can make a small request to my faithful readers: I'm looking for a flv file of the CD version of Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan to download to Realplayer. I haven't been able to find any (youtube is full of shitty covers (no offense to those who can play the guitar and sing better than Bob Dylan) and it's frustrating). I hope that, if you feel so inclined, you have better luck than I do. Anyways, please enjoy this newest chapter of the Warrior Queen!

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Fawkes was the first one awake. He always was. Thanks to his marine training, he had received extensive genetic overhauling from Binary Helix. This included an improvement to his bodily clock's sleep schedule. Instead of going between the different stages of sleep in long, lazy waves, his body alternated between stage 4, which was important for rest, and REM sleep, which psychologists said he needed for memory. The result was a 20 hour day, with 4 hours of sleep, and no side effects.

His eyes slid open and he rolled to the side. Even though he didn't need sleep, he enjoyed lounging in bed for awhile. It beat doing actual work. Raven Squadron was in a small barracks near the landing area for their gunships. The dimly lit room had 10 bunks, so his entire squadron was here. Vivian, Shawna, Julia, Seranni, and Colin were on one side of a dividing curtain. Fawkes didn't think Colin was gay, he just figured the girls thought he was more trustworthy than John or Tracy. Or him. They were probably right.

After a few more minutes, a soft click of talons on the floor told Fawkes that Ealos was awake. The turian had no qualms bunking with humans. Probably because the alternative as a tent out in the cold. Death by night-beating or freezing weren't very appealing to him, Fawkes guessed. He rolled over and signaled Ealos that he wasn't alone. The turian dipped his head and pulled on a uniform, then walked as quietly as he could over to the captain.

"Morning," Fawkes greeted him. "If you don't mind, hang around here until I'm ready. Can't have the Second Contact War get sparked on my watch."

If the turian had been human, Fawkes would have sworn the look he received included raised eyebrows. As it was, Ealos just shrugged and nodded, then stepped softly out the door. Fawkes liked the turian. Honestly, he had no bias against any aliens. But he knew a lot of people didn't feel the same. He wasn't about to let his squadron member wander around an armed camp by himself. This wasn't the first time the turian had been restricted to following his captain around. Ealos never complained about being babied, and Fawkes thought it was because he understood why it was necessary. But that didn't make it fair to him.

A bit later, Seranni slipped past the curtain on her way out the door. "Ealos is waiting for you. Keep him company," Fawkes told the asari. She smiled and nodded as she left the room. Fawkes enjoyed having Seranni around. She was his unofficial second in command; diplomatic, reasonable, and attractive. All were qualities he valued. But she also had her wild side, which explained her choice in a mate.

Voices drifted across the curtain after awhile, telling him that the rest of the women were awake. Shawna exited the girl's area first, pointedly ignoring her captain as she thumped out the door. Fawkes didn't bother trying to greet her: at best, she'd ignore him. At worst, she'd assault him. He didn't want the hassle of tossing her sorry ass out the window.

Vivian followed after, wrapped in several layers of clothing. She nodded at the captain before leaving. Garvug wasn't too cold during the day, at least along the equator. The morning air was brisk, but not uncomfortable. However, last night's freezing temperatures were the rule rather than the exception. Vivian had a low tolerance for extreme temperatures, so she had packed double the required clothing for her tour on Garvug.

John and Mac were up by now. Mac was donning his uniform while John meticulously tied the strands of his beard into the braids he was so proud of. Fawkes thought he took his Scandinavian ancestry a tad overboard, especially with the bloodlust. Soon they too were out the door, leaving four people in the barracks.

Fawkes pulled himself up and pulled on his jacket and pants, then stepped through the curtain to the other side of the room. Colin was sitting up in his bed, blearily blinking the last of the sleep from his eyes. "Morning sweety!" Julia chirped, just finished dressing herself.

"Hello Julia," Colin answered, still half-asleep. She came over and mussed his hair affectionately, and he smiled shyly at her. She grinned in return and fetched his clothes for him.

"Sleep well?" she asked.

Colin shook his head, one of his hands drifting to his face to trace the insignia etched there. "The dreams are back."

"It's the new surroundings, Colin," Fawkes reassured him. Julia nodded to her captain in greeting as she helped Colin out of bed. The boy wasn't physically impaired, but she never missed a chance to mother him. Fawkes continued, "You're just not used to Garvug yet. Give it a few days, then see how you feel."

"I guess you're right, captain," was the subdued response as he dressed. "I think yesterday was a little too long." He wasn't wrong: the entire squadron had been awake over 30 hours between the alert status upon entering the Paz system and their final mission last night.

"Like I said, give it a few days," Fawkes promised. "Things will calm down."

"Let's go see what's for breakfast," Julia sang, pulling her surrogate son out the door. Fawkes walked over to Tracy's bed and stood over him, silently waiting.

"I know you're there," a tired voice mumbled from the mass of bed sheets that hid Tracy from view. "I can hear you glaring."

Rolling his eyes, Fawkes kicked the bed. "Get up soldier," he joke-ordered.

Grumbling, Tracy rolled out of bed and onto the floor. "Shit!" he cussed, jumping up and hurriedly putting on shoes. "That floor is fucking cold!"

"You know what else will be cold? Your breakfast if you don't get a move on!"

"I know I know," Tracy answered, quickly dressing and making his bed. The cold floor had done the trick.

Fawkes left his co-pilot inside the barracks. Stepping into the cold air, he breathed out of his mouth, pleased he could see it condense in front of him. For some reason, that simple thing always amused him. Probably because it reminded him of the cold winter mornings back home on Elysium. He signaled to Ealos, who was leaning against the barracks wall nearby, chatting with Seranni. They both saw him and walked over, eager to be underway.

"Where to ccaptain?" Ealos asked as they made their way through the makeshift compound. Signs of life could be seen everywhere as the soldiers went about the daily business of making war. Other squads that had come in late began emerging from makeshift barracks, heading in different directions for their various and sundry morning preparations.

"We'll find you some breakfast first Ealos, then we'll all find somewhere to eat together," Seranni suggested.

"Sounds fine with-" Fawkes began, before noticing the woman rushing toward them. Her striking red hair was a rarity for humans nowadays. Her sparkling purple eyes suggested she had some gene-therapy done. The datapad in her hand and micro-recorder he suspected was hidden in her necklace gave her away as a reporter. Fawkes sighed, then shrugged at his companions. "Go on without me. And stay out of trouble," he orderded.

"Yes captain," Seranni murmured, taking Ealos and heading off before the woman reached them. She stopped before Fawkes, her chest heaving. He raised an eyebrow and looked her over. Her face could've been sculpted from marble, perfect as it was. Her cheeks were high, and her jaw set in a stubborn line that did not detract from her beauty. Her nose was small, and her eyes were large and took the most attention. She had probably turned them purple to add to that effect. Simply put, she was gorgeous.

"Hello Ashley," he greeted her calmly. She fixed him with a stunning smile, and part of him buzzed inside. He smiled in return, suddenly happy to have her company.

"Hey Fawkes, I'm glad I caught you," she breathed, still panting from running. It looked like she had been running all across camp. Looking for him? He was flattered. "Do you have the datapad?"

Fawkes shook his head. "We had to deploy from the Eclipse before I could get it to you. I can ask for it to be sent in the next supply drop, though." She looked a little upset by this, so he quickly changed the subject, "I thought you had gone to Omega to follow up on the vorcha plague. I'm surprised you're here."

She waved the comment away. "I figured that an entire fleet circling Garvug would be a better story than another health concern on that rock."

Fawkes nodded and turned to head towards one of the many mess halls in camp. "You're right about that. How did you know I was here, though?" he asked.

Ashley suddenly looked sheepish. "I slipped a transmitter into the datapad I gave you. I can find you anywhere in the Terminus Systems."

He gave her a withering look. "If someone had found that, I could've lost my job," he informed the sneaky reporter.

She looked a little repentant, but suddenly cheered up. "You didn't though! Isn't that what counts?"

Fawkes rubbed his temples as they slipped inside the closest mess hall. There was almost no-one here, which wasn't very surprising considering it was still early. The pair walked up to the paste dispenser and chose how much they wanted. Out popped a recyclable bowl filled with nutrient-rich paste. Almost like oatmeal. They moved onto the next machine and picked their spices for some flavor. Fawkes chose french toast, and Ashley picked strawberries.

They chose a spot away from the door and its cold air. Ashley sat across from him and poked at her paste, thinking the whole mess looked very unappealing. Fawkes was already well into his meal, however, enjoying the taste, if not the texture. The spices did a very good job making the substance taste appealing, and soon he was finished; satisfied for the moment. Seconds would probably come later since he had unlimited rations. It was a nice perk of command.

"So Fawkes," Ashley began, taking a small bite of her meal.

"So Ashley," he responded, finishing off his.

She glared at him. "How long have I known you?" she asked out of the blue.

Fawkes was surprised by the question, but considered it anyways. He was pleasantly surprised by the answer. I'd say we met about two years ago, when you kept pestering the Guanghui reps about where their gunship pilots came from. They made me take you for a ride over Illium. If I remember correctly," he said with a grin, "you fainted."

Her glare intensified. "You're lucky I came back," she retorted.

Fawkes laughed. "You would think so. I did enjoy having my name on the extranet for a few days."

Ashley gave him a honeyed, therefore fake, smile. "It was the least I could do for my chauffeur," she explained.

"_Corporate pilots reckless and negligent_?" he demanded, sniggering as he quoted the headline she had published.

She laughed as well, and for awhile they sat, reminiscing. Around them, the room slowly filled as personnel filed in, some groggy from all-nighters, others appearing more well rested. "So, what brings you here, honestly?" Fawkes inquired, curious.

"TUNA wants to know what's going on here. I'm their best resource, especially since it involves corporate troops." Ashley explained, winking at him as she finished the last of her meal. They both put their plates inside of another machine, which would rinse and recycle everything.

He sniggered at the acronym for the Terminus Underground News Agency. Despite their somewhat foolish choice of naming, they were actually the galaxy's foremost source on the goings-on in the lawless Terminus region of space. A large donation from the Shadow Broker had set up safe-houses and provided contacts for reporters here. TUNA had quickly formed to meet the sudden influx of information. Try as they might, the various warlords couldn't get around the Shadow Broker's protection: safe-houses were always empty, contacts never found or always freed, and reporters were always two steps ahead of repercussions.

From what Ashley had told him, she had moved to the Terminus Systems sometime before TUNA had been set up, in the "Dark Ages" as she put it. She was one of the first people sought out by the Shadow Broker's agents, because she had somehow bested the Terminus System's policies towards media by her lonesome.

The wily news agent scowled at him. "This coming from a man who named his gunship Warrior Queen? I'm not impressed," she declared flatly.

Fawkes rolled his eyes and went to get seconds from the paste machine. He sat back down with her and ate more slowly, intending to continue the conversation. "So, what questions can I answer, oh great and powerful news goddess?"

She stuck her tongue out at him and fingered her necklace. Just as he suspected, a microrecorder was hidden there. "Tell me what you know about the invasion," she began, suddenly businesslike.

Fawkes told her basically what the original briefing had been. They were here originally to ensure a peaceful transition of governments, coup aside, in order for corporations to access the planet's resources. Specifically, Guanghui Solutions was interested in repairing the damage done by the krogan to the planet's ecosystem: cleansing the seas of pollutants and ensuring suitable breeding pools for maritime life. They also wished to find sustainable farming opportunities in order to allow the flora and fauna native to the planet to repair the damage done to them by greedy krogans seeking new land to overharvest.

"But that wasn't the plan, was it?" Ashley inquired, sounding very professional for the microphone.

Fawkes nodded grimly. "I don't have the whole story," he explained," but I know from the commander in charge of pulling the coup, a man named Abel, that several of our allies on the ground weren't in contact. Because of this, there were not sufficient numbers to take the Haliot Clan ancestral fortress before the state of alarm went up."

"What about Haliot Wrund?" she asked.

"The warlord controlling the planet?" he clarified. "Well, I'm not entirely sure. He's probably holed up in the fortress, calling for reinforcements of his own from other Terminus warlords."

The reporter nodded absently and continued her line of questioning. "So what happens now?" she asked.

"We fight," Fawkes said bluntly. "Until Guanghui decides it's not worth it, we're groundside for the long haul."

"Any chance of victory?" Ashley pressed. "You retreaded pretty quickly last night."

Fawkes ran a hand through his hair, considering the question. "I won't speak military jargon to you. Simply put, we were unprepared for a protracted ground war. We got out while we could, instead of standing and dying." His words weren't harsh, or directed at her, but his tone still made her glance up from the readings on her necklace. He continued; "We're already pushing back into the city, because we have the superior technology and training. Trust me when I say that the fighting has barely begun."

Ashley gave him another smile, this one genuine. She slipped the recorder back into her shirt, presumably turning it off. "Thanks a bunch Fawkes," she said earnestly, leaning forward to kiss his forehead.

The pilot blushed in spite of his attempt to remain passive and allowed a small smile in return. At this she grinned widely and sat back in her chair. "I thought you told me my charms didn't work on you," she taunted playfully.

He rolled his eyes, the attraction gone in light of the fake argument. "Please excuse my body, it thought you were actually interested for a moment."

She laughed at that. "You're saying you're interested?"

He shook his head and explained. "No, my body decided before my brain could call it stupid. I'll need to ask Binary Helix to fix that."

Ashley grinned mischievously. "You need a session of gene-therapy just to get over me? I'm so flattered," she retorted sarcastically.

"Nope. Just so I can remember not to fall for your act again," he explained in a reasonable tone.

"Act?" she asked, appearing totally innocent.

Fawkes nodded excitedly and pressed the point: "When a man is happy with his life, you suddenly swoop in out of nowhere under the guise of news and make off with his desires. Then he chases you across the galaxy like some love-struck Romeo."

"You make me sound like some kind of deceitful harpy from one of your storybooks," she complained, pouting.

"Well, that's because you basically are a deceitful harpy from one of my 'storybooks,'" he stated bluntly, putting air quotes around the last word. "Except you smell slightly nicer, and you have a spaceship and breasts as opposed to talons and feathers."

The roundabout way he had gotten to the kill was worth it for the look on Ashley's face. She wasn't hurt or insulted, only outraged that she had been outmaneuvered so easily. Fawkes leaned back from the table, the picture of ease as he waited for her response. "Well… you… blargh!" she stammered lamely.

He held up a hand in appeasement. "I'll admit, though, you do have a certain charm," he said, trying to soothe her ego.

It seemed to work, as she calmed down a little. "Well… thanks," she mumbled.

"It's just that I want to be immune to it. Like how a smoker wants to be immune to black lung."

She stuck her tongue out at him, then brightened. "Oh! You're saying you're addicted to me, huh? So much for your brain being smart."

He laughed. "It's not my fault you grow on people. Sort of like a fungus, or a tumor."

The exchange continued for a little while longer, before subsiding into more casual conversation. They talked about Ashley's past assignments, and Fawkes told a few hair-raising war stories. Suddenly, Fawkes' datapad beeped, signaling he had a message. Groaning, he opened it; sure enough, there were details of his newest assignment. "Looks like I'm booked for the rest of the day," he complained, both to himself and Ashley.

She pouted nonetheless, unhappy that her favorite news-source was leaving. "Who else will I pump for information?" she demanded.

"Try the Guanghui Solutions PR branch. It's what they exist for."

"They're no fun," she mumbled to herself, standing up with him. "Any chance I could come with?"

Fawkes laughed and shook his head. "Besides the fact that we're going into a combat zone, you won't be able to see anything from the cargo bay."

"Cargo bay?" she demanded as walking with him towards the landing zone. Her pride was obviously injured. "Why on earth would I fly in the cargo bay? I thought there were two seats in your gunship!"

He allowed her to rant while he tapped a small beeper on his uniform. Similar devices would respond on his squadron, letting them know to assemble at the landing zone. "That will be occupied," he answered distractedly, making sure the location his beeper was sending was accurate. It was.

"Who's going to sit there?" she cried, throwing up her hands. "Who is possibly more important to you than I am?"

Fawkes considered the question seriously for her benefit. "Several people, actually. But in this case, I believe the answer would be my gunner. He'd be quite insistent about sitting there, actually."

Ashley's indignity deflated, and she giggled at her own lack of knowledge. "Oh! That makes sense," she stated, suddenly her usual perky self once again. They continued to chat as the rest of Raven squadron assembled. Their reactions to her presence ranged to casual interest (Tracy and Julia) to outright distaste (Shawna.)

"Okay, I have to go," Fawkes told her finally. Without another word, he turned and headed to his gunship. He climbed nimbly into the cockpit and closed the hatch. He purposefully didn't look at her as he did pre-flight checks for his squadron. "All right," he finally said. "Everyone lift off, I'll give you details once we're _en route_. At last, he turned to look towards Ashley. She was still there smiling brightly at him. He gave a small grin in return, and waved, hoping Tracy wouldn't see. He did.

"Caught one huh commander?" he inquired casually, his face the picture of disinterest.

"Shut up Tracy," Fawkes said sullenly as they lifted off. Ashley continued waving and smiling until they could no longer see her.

"Does she know you're taken?" Tracy continued steadily, not heeding his captain's words.

"Hm?" Fawkes responded, suddenly incredibly busy adjusting the throttle of the gunship.

"The Warrior Queen is a possessive girl, you know," he informed his captain. "She won't like your new friend."


	6. Clear Skies

**Hey my faithful readers! I've played Mass Effect for the PS3 and it's super fun! I can't wait for ME3 to come out, I will be so happy! So, let's all congratulate my new beta Amymimi for her wonderful job editing all the small errors from my work so that you can better enjoy the material! And so, without further ado, I give you my latest chapter =D

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Fawkes shifted his position in the pilot's seat as his squadron zoomed off towards their next mission. Command on the ground wanted a second front in the northwestern part of Dhazil. Raven squadron would be partnering with ground forces for the opening stages of the assault, focused mainly on close-air support. On top of that, each of their gunships had an YMIR mech ready to be deployed into the combat zone. "Everyone check in, make sure you're ready to deploy your package," Fawkes ordered.

"Raven Two, package secure and clamps green," Mac's gravely tone assured him.

"Raven Three, my back end is too heavy. I can't fly too well," Shawna complained.

"Thanks for stating the obvious," Fawkes responded quickly, "but I was talking about the mech."

"Uh- Raven Four here," Colin quickly interrupted what was sure to have been an angry retort from Shawna. "I can maneuver just fine, but it makes me nervous that we're carrying all these munitions."

"Don't worry Colin, I'm sure you'll avoid enemy fire long enough to see your charge safely… into the combat zone. Anyways, how are you doing, Raven Five?"

"Ready to deploy when ordered," Seranni replied calmly.

"Okay guys, here's how things will go down. We are flying support for our armies on the ground. They'll light up targets for us. It's our job both to keep the airspace in corporate hands, as well as make sure they can penetrate the city's outer defenses."

"How will we divide up the targets if there's more than one?" Seranni asked.

"Understood," the asari responded. "What do our forces look like?"

"We're protecting an entire company, complete with armor support and an artillery battery. Reinforcements will come pending a successful assault. Infantry units will follow behind the frontal armor assault in APCs."

The squadron was silent after that, each gunship keeping its own counsel about the coming battle. Fawkes was optimistic: he knew what his squadron could do. He wasn't worried about losing anyone on this mission.

Before too long, the rally point for the assault was below Raven Squadron. Tracy whistled appreciatively at the size of the force they were escorting. Rows of tanks, mobile artillery batteries, and APCs were lined up in combat formation. Near the rear, the commanding officer's personal tactical vehicle was surrounded by anti personnel, armor, and aircraft weaponry. In all, it was pretty intimidating. "Gotta love a corporate budget," he praised as Fawkes took his gunship low overhead.

"If you're so enamored with a tank, request a transfer," his pilot retorted.

The gunner shook his head and sighed. "I need to be here to save you from certain destruction. I wouldn't be able to sleep well at night knowing you were in danger and I wasn't here to protect you."

Fawkes rolled his eyes. "I'm touched," he replied sarcastically.

"I was talking to the ship," Tracy stated in a serious voice.

Fawkes' bitter retort died in his throat as the gunship's VI beeped. A grizzled old colonel's voice spoke into the cockpit. "Is your squadron ready, captain? We're all set to move out."

"Let's kick some ass," Fawkes responded, turning his gunship around and boosting toward Dhazil. Raven Squadron formed up behind him, and on the ground below the mechanized force roared to life. Line upon line of armor and firepower shot forward, following the Ravens into combat.

"City's coming up," Mac warned. A moment later, he banked to the left, avoiding a long-range artillery shell. "Lucky shot," he stated to a concerned captain.

"Ground command to air support, copy?"

The colonel's voice already sounded urgent. If he was losing his cool this early in the battle, Fawkes wondered how good of a commander he was. "Raven One at your service," he replied.

"We're tagging some artillery pieces our spotters have found inside the city proper. Take care of them for us before we're torn apart down here." A moment later, Fawkes' viewport lit up with red ticks, signifying enemy units. "Confirm you see the targets Raven One."

"Targets confirmed. Raven Squadron, engage and destroy indicated enemy artillery and other targets of opportunity." There were about a dozen enemies on screen, but they were all in groups. So Fawkes picked a cluster at random and accelerated. "Ready, Tracy?" he asked his gunner.

Tracy flexed his fingers against the grips on the trigger. "Sure am. Let's finish this before nightfall this time." There were three artillery pieces before the Warrior Queen. They were holed up on top of a building that had a commanding view of the city outskirts and surrounding countryside. Fawkes took the gunship in high, above their accurate firing range. Once directly above them, he pointed the ship downward and hit the throttle. Tracy opened fire with the mass accelerator cannon, ripping through one of the big guns and its attending operators. The other two he destroyed with well-placed rockets. Fawkes leveled out the gunship just before it struck the building and shot back towards the advancing army.

"Too flashy?" Fawkes asked his gunner.

Tracy shook his head. "Watch Raven Three." Fawkes turned to see the Heartbreaker ram an artillery battery head on, smashing it to pieces and sending the operators leaping off of their perch for their lives. He sighed and spun his gunship to look for more targets. Any that remained were in the process of being destroyed by his squadron.

"Raven One to ground command. Artillery destroyed, mission accomplished."

"Good work, Raven Squadron. Hold above our current position and await further orders." Raven Squadron formed up above the Corporate force as it continued advancing towards Dhazil. There was no State resistance as they continued to advance, and before too long the front rank of tanks was less than a mile away from the city limits.

"Scout to ground command, scout to ground command! We have State tanks advancing down the main thoroughfare. They've brought out an entire battalion!" Fawkes could already see them, a thick grey-green line of vehicles pouring out of the city to meet the advancing corporate forces.

The colonel cussed loudly into the mic, then started firing off orders. The APCs would slow and divert to a secondary objective away from the fighting. The tanks would form up and attempt to smash through the front rank of the enemy and move into the city, where the numerical advantage would count for less. They would be supported by a determined artillery barrage and dedicated air support.

Already, targets were lighting up for Fawkes' squadron. The captain was spouting off orders of his own. "Ravens Two and Four follow the APCs. Ravens Three and Five start smashing a hole in those tanks!"

"What about you?" Shawna demanded angrily as she angled towards the rapidly advancing State tanks.

"I'm going officer hunting," the captain responded as he took the gunship high above the rest of the battle. Below, the first lines of tanks were opening fire, and Fawkes' gunship squadron was beginning to strafe the enemy forces.

"Fawkes, what's officer hunting?" Tracy asked, curious.

"We find whoever is leading this tank division and fill him with rockets," the pilot replied. They were coming over the next rank of tanks. He scanned the vehicles below, but saw nothing that looked like a command vehicle. For their part, the vorcha and krogan below wasted no time opening fire on the lone gunship above them. Fawkes took the Warrior Queen around a building to avoid a barrage of mass accelerator fire, then safely ascended above the weapon's accurate firing range.

"We should've just shot them," Tracy complained. "I feel so useless not shooting people."

"You'll fire all you want once we find the damned command vehicle," Fawkes assured him. "So shut the hell up and let me concentrate!"

Tracy grumbled mutinously in response but otherwise kept his mouth shut.

Fawkes continued to fly over and around buildings, doing his best to search the ground for an important-looking vehicle. It was a tricky business, because not only did he have to avoid the mass accelerator fire from below, he had to be sure not to fly too high for too long, or else a rocket emplacement would shoot him out of the sky. Once, he had been forced to destroy a cannon emplacement to make sure he could fly over a bare stretch of land safely. By then, the Warrior Queen was well inside the city limits and over enemy territory.

Fawkes was beginning to consider turning around, when Tracy suddenly cussed loudly and began firing the guns. "Pull us up!" he shouted. The tone of his voice brooked no argument, and the pilot yanked at his controls, swinging the gunship into a steep upward spiral. It was then he noticed the large blip on the radar. The large and fast moving blip. Not a moment later, a frigate-sized vessel shot by beneath their aircraft.

"They were going to ram us," Fawkes mumbled dumbly. "How did I not notice…?" He righted the ship, turning hard to keep the larger frigate in view. He wasn't about to caught off guard again.

"They just suddenly appeared on the radar, captain!" Tracy explained, his guns pelting the kinetic barriers on the ship. "They probably have some of jamming signal or stealth system."

Fawkes banked to the right to avoid a burst of GARDIAN laser fire from the frigate. "Stealth system? On this planet? Not likely!" he snorted.

"Maybe you just weren't paying attention then!" Tracy retorted as he fired a rocket. The projectile shot forward and struck the ship's kinetic barriers.

"You're right; it must've been jamming of some kind," Fawkes said lamely. "But for now, we need to worry about how to get rid of it. We can't make a dent in those shields." He rose above another GARDIAN attack, then descended rapidly to avoid a SAM fired from somewhere on the ground.

"You're the thinker! I just shoot the guns!" his gunner responded, still peppering the frigate they were chasing. Fawkes sighed, then decelerated his gunship slightly and broke off, spinning it back towards the battle at the city limits. The larger vessel turned to pursue them. Fawkes descended and fell between the buildings below, darting through openings to avoid GARDIAN fire. "Fawkes, you'll get us killed!" Tracy cried in fear, instinctively ducking as a skybridge passed overhead.

Fawkes didn't respond as he continued to bob and weave through the city streets. The frigate kept up overhead, occasionally firing its lasers at them. Fawkes did his best to make it difficult for the ship's VI to get a good shot, often changing directions or flying below overhangs to get cover. The State forces on the ground complicated matters, as they relentlessly fired whatever they could at the fleeing gunship. So despite Fawkes' best efforts, several shots did connect with the Warrior Queen's shields. Fawkes could only watch helplessly as the readings on his dashboard continued to decrease. _75%... 53%... 31%.._

"Raven One! What is your status?" Seranni's voice broke through the intense period of silence inside the cockpit, jarring Fawkes' concentration. He was so startled that he almost turned straight into a nearby building. He cussed loudly and yanked back on the controls, sending the gunship straight up into the air. They were close, the tail thrusters burned through several windows. Overhead, the frigate shot across their view-screen.

Fawkes wasted no time in giving orders. "Ravens Five and Three, disengage and sanitize the airspace. Blow that ship out of the sky." They weren't out of the city yet, but he could see corporate tanks combating the State forces below him. It looked like the battle was progressing in their favor.

A beep from the gunship's VI told the captain a message was incoming from the colonel. "Play it," he ordered as Tracy opened fire on the frigate once again. "Raven One, I'm not sure where you found that frigate, but our techies are detecting a mass of data being transmitted from it. They believe it's the State Command Vehicle."

Tracy sighed in exasperation and shot another pair of rockets at the ship they were chasing. The projectiles smashed into the kinetic barriers of the ship, still not penetrating. "And here I thought this was just a random frigate that decided to welcome us to this lovely planet!" he half-shouted as he kept the mass accelerator guns trained on the ship. The frigate was doing its best to shake them, twisting and spinning in the sky above Dhazil. But it was too large to attempt a chase through the city streets, and its thrusters weren't nearly as precise as the gunships. Fawkes remained on its tail, giving Tracy all the opportunity he needed to whittle away at its shields.

"Commander, we're at your six," Seranni informed him. Four more rockets screamed past the Warrior Queen and struck the frigate's shields. The kinetic barriers didn't even flicker.

"This is taking too long," Shawna complained from her gunship. Fawkes was about to tell her to shut up when he saw the Heartbreaker streak past his windshield, headed straight for the ship in front of them. He watched, mute, as Shawna took her ship high above and ahead of the frigate. All at once, her gunship started dropping like a stone, its nose pointed straight at the ship below. As it passed beneath her, Fawkes winced in anticipation of the Heartbreaker striking its shields. But instead, the gunship passed through them harmlessly, and unleashed missiles and mass accelerator rounds into the exposed ablative armor.

A tiny course correction saved the crazy woman from a head on collision, and she was able to safely recover from the nosedive before hitting the ground below. The frigate was in much worse shape. Shawna's daring maneuver had disabled one of its thrusters, reducing its turning ability and speed considerably. "Raven One to ground command," Fawkes said, feeling triumphant. "See if you can knock this thing out of the sky."

Tank rounds, rockets, SAMS, and mass accelerator rounds were soon peppering the crippled ship. It was now attempting to find safety behind State lines, but it was moving so slowly Fawkes was surprised it was still airborne. All at once, the frigates shields flickered and died. Dozens of rockets and SAMs found their mark on the frigate, and smoke began pouring from the hull. The remaining thrusters stuttered, and the frigate shuddered, giving off a strange metallic peal. The Ravens redoubled their efforts, focusing mass accelerator fire on the rear and top of the ship. Fawkes knew the miniature rounds would easily penetrate the bulky armor and ricochet around the inside, tearing through equipment and flesh with ease. With an odd sense of finality, the frigate's thrusters swung wildly up and left, directing the ship into a downward spiral. Then the thrusters died entirely, and the whole smoking hulk crashed into the city below.

"Raven Squadron confirmed kill. Now get back to those tanks," Fawkes ordered, spinning his gunship around and dropping below the line of buildings to engage the ground forces below. The battle turned even more in their favor after the frigate crashed. It seemed the colonel had been right; that ship had been the command vehicle for the State tank battalion. Without it, they had no orders, no enemies to engage, no streets to bypass, no units to reinforce. They were easy prey for the more organized and disciplined corporate forces. The further they were pushed back, the more disorganized they became. In the last minutes of the battle, dozens of tanks turned tail and tried to escape the death-trap the battle had become. The three Ravens mowed them down, demolishing the armor and sending whoever they missed running through the backstreets.

"Raven Squadron, urgent communiqué from the infantry platoon sent to secondary objective," the colonel informed Fawkes, before playing a message from a desperate-sounding private. "Secondary objective unsecure. We were ambushed by State-forces _en route_. We've managed to hole up in an abandoned industrial complex, and air-support is doing their best to keep the enemy's heads down. But we won't last long without support!"

"It's your squadron," the colonel explained after the message ended. "How do you want to play it?"

Fawkes considered the situation for a moment before coming to a decision. "The battle here is more than won. Secure our route forward and radio for reinforcements, then come as backup for the infantry to the north."

"Understood, Captain," the colonel replied. Funny, he said that like it was an order, Fawkes thought to himself. Then he shrugged the thought away and called for his squadron to form up. The three of them opened the throttles wide and flew north.

"Raven Two, come in!" Fawkes ordered into the comm as they got closer to the battle.

"Finally!" Mac exclaimed, sounding relieved. "Commander, I won't waste time explaining things. Just tell us what to do."

Fawkes considered the battlefield carefully. The industrial complex was basically a massive eezo refinery surrounded on three sides by Dhazil and on the western side by open country. High walls and barbed wire were erected around the other three sides of the building. Fawkes was surprised by the lack of holes in the walls, before he remembered that they would've been made to withstand all but the heaviest ordinance. Civil wars weren't uncommon on worlds dominated by the vorcha and krogan. The enemy forces were concentrated at the one gap in the walls, large gates that stood blown apart by whatever explosives the State forces were using.

The enemy had probably attempted to swarm inside and overwhelm the corporate infantry, but that plan had been stopped by the ring of APCs and their heavy weapons. A line of them stood downrange from the gate entrance, cutting down anyone who poked their heads out of the hole. Despite several smoking hunks of metal, the line seemed to be holding. And Ravens Two and Four weren't taking it easy on the entrenched State army either. Though they were out of rockets, and their mechs were deployed along the defensive line, the two gunships doggedly kept the enemies' heads down. As down as a krogan head could get, anyway.

"Right, here's what we'll do. Ravens Three and Five, get behind the State forces and wait for my go to deploy your mechs. Ravens Two and Four, go harass the enemy some more. Keep them occupied as long as possible, to give Seranni and Shawna some time. And someone put me in contact with the head of the ground forces."

Fawkes quickly explained his plan to the staff sergeant in charge of the corporate infantry. He was completely on board. As they spoke, sounds of screaming and mass accelerator fire could be heard in the distance as Mac and Colin did their part. "Right, wait for my signal," Fawkes instructed before shutting off his comm. He spun the gunship around and shot towards the state forces. He flew through the open gate, releasing the holding clamps on his mech at the same moment as he pointed himself skyward. He had timed it perfectly: the YMIR was perfectly intact as it activated. The State forces were still too distracted to notice a lone machine come to life in their midst. But they did begin to notice when mass accelerator rounds and rockets started shooting in all directions. "Release your mechs now!" Fawkes instructed the other gunships.

Ravens Two and Four finally broke off from their assault with their shields depleted. But the State forces still had to deal with the YMIR mechs that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Rockets and missiles flew in all directions as the vorcha panicked. "Now would be a good time," Fawkes told the sergeant. A moment later, a dozen engines revved from the APCs inside the compound. While the State forces had been distracted, the corporate ground forces had moved their vehicles into a spearhead formation. Now, they were prepared to recreate an old human battle tactic: the cavalry charge. The vehicles leapt forward and sped towards the gate, their weapons tearing through the enemy.

Between the mechs and the new threat, the enemy simply couldn't withstand the corporate counter-attack. Their disorganized ranks dissolved completely, with many simply breaking and running. "Chase them down," Fawkes ordered. The gunships sprang into action, their guns blazing as they mowed down the fleeing enemy troops.

"So explain to me how those chicks got through the frigate's shields," Tracy said as they worked. "I'm curious."

Fawkes glanced up from his controls long enough to see his gunner's expression was neutral. "Well, they shut off the eezo core to give themselves more weight, and they stopped the thrusters to give themselves less speed. The heavier and slower an object is, the less a kinetic barrier can do about it."

"I see," Tracy said simply. He let off the guns; there were no more targets. Fawkes circled back to the eezo refinery and got a status report from the sergeant.

"That charge alone accounted for half of the enemy force. I think we're secure here. And we had surprisingly few casualties. Not one APC was lost. Your plan was brilliant, Raven One."

Fawkes ran a hand through his hair, feeling awkward under the praise. "Thanks. Well, send a message to your CO telling him what's going on. I'm going to do a sweep for any remaining State forces." The Ravens were already forming around their captain. With his squadron behind him, Fawkes turned the Warrior Queen around and flew low over the city of Dhazil.

* * *

**Please, review what you've just read! I'm begging here! It's free, the least you could do is give me feedback for your entertainment!**


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